Introduction

1. INTRODUCTION

Electric circuits are made up of interconnected/interacting electrical components/devices:

batteries, generators, resistors, capacitors, coils, transformers, diodes, transistors, thyristors,
operational amplifiers, etc. An example circuit is illustrated in Fig. 1.1.

Figure 1.1 An electric circuit.

Operation of an electric circuit is governed by the rules of physics and is described in terms of the
variables: time, charge, energy, current, voltage, power, flux, frequency, etc.
Analysis and design are two important problems that we face when dealing with electric circuits.
Analysis means the determination of operation (e.g., values of currents, voltages, etc. of interest)
of a given circuit; and design means the construction of a circuit given the specifications on its
operation.
Electrical components/devices and electric circuits exist in the physical (real) world. In the
mathematical (abstract) world, we define model elements and form model circuits by inter-
connected/interacting model elements.
Depending on various conditions, e.g., current, voltage, power, energy levels; frequency band of
interest; environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, etc.; each component/device can
be represented (modeled) by one or more model elements. For example, a coil, an electrical
component, shown in Fig. 1.2a can be modeled by an inductor, a model element, shown in
Fig. 1.2b; or considering the winding resistance of the coil, by two model elements, an inductor
and a resistor, as shown in Fig. 1.2c; or taking the winding capacitance into account, by three
model elements, an inductor, a resistor, and a capacitor, as shown in Fig. 1.2d.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 1.2 (a) Coil. (b), (c), (d) Various coil models.

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 Introduction

{Note that the words "resistor" and "capacitor" are used to name both electrical components and
model elements. The actual meaning will be clear from the context.}
A model circuit for the electric circuit of Fig. 1.1 is shown in Fig. 1.3.

Figure 1.3 A model circuit.

When analyzing an electric circuit, first a suitable model circuit is obtained. Next, this model circuit
is studied (analyzed) by making use of mathematical tools, and the results are interpreted in terms
of the original electric circuit. Models with higher complexity make the analysis more difficult, but
the results become more accurate. Choosing the optimum model is an important engineering task.
When designing an electric circuit, starting from the specifications, first a model circuit is formed.
Then this circuit is analyzed to check whether it behaves as desired or not. If not, the process is
iterated until a suitable model circuit (if there exists any) is obtained. The next step is the
construction of an electric circuit based on this model.
Two important model circuit types are lumped and distributed circuit models.
A change (e.g., in the value of a current, a voltage, etc.) occurring at a part of an electric circuit is
sensed at another part which is d meters away, τd = d/c seconds later, where c is the propagation
speed and τd is the propagation time. For example taking c = 3×108 meters/second, for d = 30
centimeters, τd = 10-9 seconds (≡ 1 nanosecond). Suppose that a variable is changing sinusoidally
at the frequency f Hertz. One cycle is completed in T = 1/f seconds, T being the period of the
sinusoid. If the maximum propagation time is much less than T (i.e., if the propagation time is
negligible), then the lumped circuit model, where the propagation time is ignored, can be
satisfactorily used.
In the following, we will study lumped element models and lumped circuit models.

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